Someone says it's humorous, someone else claims it's cruel and not funny at all. The online video ad developed by Ford to promote it's new SportKa has raised a lot of noise. It was supposed to be a viral marketing effort, so maybe this is the perfect result Ford wanted to reach... You can see the ad online at: http://www.the-eviltwin.co.uk/
Or read more on Revolution Magazine and Ananova.

Sorry guys but comments are now closed. The discussion was going in the wrong way.

AdAge reports that, led by financial services and telcom companies, online ad spending continues to rise. Those two sectors increased their ad spending by $100 million from the first quarter of 2002 compared with the first quarter of this year. The stats are provided by Nielsen/NetRatings.

Esure, a UK based online insurance firm has launched a new email marketing campaign to promote its its car and home insurance services. Brand Republic reports that the campaign, which features personalised email messages has been developed by Inbox Media, following the style of Esure current press ads. Chris Bowden, marketing manager of Esure, said:

British Airways will sponsor the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2003 and will use a viral game to let people know about it. Revolution Magazine reports what Jayne O'Brien, head of BA's UK and Ireland marketing, said:

This sounds so na�ve... Well, Mrs O'Brien, the game will go online on October 6th, let's wait and see if it's worth spreading the word :-)

Surf the Web and get a coupon for a free ice cream. That's the idea of Boston.com and the ice cream maker Brigham's Inc.. DMNews.com explains the campaign idea, quoting Stephanie Shore, director of marketing at Boston.com:

Redemption rates were, in fact, pretty high: almost 10 percent of the 56,719 page views of the coupon.

Revolution Magazine reports of a new integrated marketing campaign (guerrilla style) launched by Asics to promote its 70s basketball shoe "Fabre". The idea has been developed by the Dutch Agency BlueberryFrog and features the "Afro Octopus" Fastbreak Olly, as main character in an online slam dunk advergame.
The best player will win a pair of the shoes... A "must" for a basketball fan (and player) like me :-)

Advertisers plan to put significantly more money into rich and streaming media in the next year, BUT... they are concerned about ROI and high costs. IAR reports the results of a recent survey by Jupiter Research on rich and streaming media. Rich media will account 11% of online ad spending in 2004, while streaming media will growth up to 4%. In 2005, rich media will represent 15 percent of online ad spending, and streaming will account for 6 percent.

Mazda goes online with a brand new viral campaign to promote Mazda 6 range of cars. Brand Republic that Mazda has created two entertaining, web-exclusive film clips that can be download and send friends. There's also a competition to win a golfing break at St Andrews. As Maria McCullough, advertising and communications manager for Mazda Motors UK, has explained:

In a press release today on Yahoo! News, British Airways has announced a new aggressive effort to attract international business travelers, through an online campaign developed by iTraffic.
The online campaign -- including full-page Unicast, half-page and box advertisements -- will run from September 22 through the end of the year in conjunction with print and television ads developed by British Airways' offline agency. Amy O'Kane, Manager of Marketing Services for British Airways North America has commented:

In October Microsoft will launch a new interactive campaign to promote its consolle Xbox Live. MediaForum reports that Microsoft's objective is to create an online community of players. The online campaign instead, will start in November and continue until Xmas. Cristian Versari, Xbox marketing communication manager said:

The Financial Times has launched a new English edition in Asia, with the goal of boosting its circulation and increasing the reach across the Asia region. Brand Republic reports that the strapline used in the marketing campaign is "Independent. Inspired. Indispensable."
The Financial Times now has dedicated editions, in print and online, for the UK, continental Europe, US and Asia.

"There's only one destination in Autumn". And that's Ireland, according to a new integrated campaign launched by Tourism Ireland to attract tourists to the country. Revolution Magazine reports that direct mail, email and the Web have been employed to to promote seasonal autumn packages linked to festivals taking place over the coming months.

Nestle has just launched a new snack format KitKat Kubes, and it's using mobile marketing to promote them to 16 to 25 years old women. Revolution reports that consumers who receive the sms text will have the chance to request free samples of the product.

Volvo has launched on Msn.it a campaign to promote its new S40. MediaForum reports that the Web portal has promised Volvo to create 180.000 click through and 3.500 online registrations.
The campaign will run also on the main Italian portals, using a variety of ads formats: hockeystick, skyscraper e pop-up.

On eMarketer David Berkowitz presents today an interview with Otherwise Creative Director Mark Rattin. Otherwise is the interactive agency responsible for Orbitz online campaigns (the pop-unders you usually see when reading the New York Times online).
The interview is very interesting since it discusses many issues connected to online travel business and advertising.
The full collection of Orbitz pop-unders is available online.

Remember the Nike "Tag" Tv campaign? Now you can also play "Tag" online, thanks to a new advergame developed by the Spanish Agency DoubleYou. Read more on Diario IPMark (Spanish).

Zeppelin as well as pizza couriers will be used by Esso in its upcoming �On the run� mobile competition in Switzerland. Impactmedia has designed the multi channel communication strategy, and MINICK has provided the mobile applications and infrastructure. Actually is not very easy to understand what the campaign is about, even though it sounds rather interesting, since there's also a little bit of "guerrilla" in it�In the press release Marco B�schlin, managing director of MINICK Switzerland explained:

MediaPost reports today about the recent Ford F-150 truck online campaign.
According to Nielsen/Netratings traffic from home to Ford jumped 72% to 842,000 unique visitors, thanks to the heavy advertising on MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. Masha Geller says this has been a successful campaign...
Well, I do agree that traffic is important, however I believe that, in order to evaluate the results of this online effort, we should better look at other data, not mentioned in the article, such as the number of people that have signed up to receive further information on the vehicle, or have booked a driving-test.

The Italian web magazine Prima Comunicazione presents the results of a recent study by Nokia saying that more and more SME have started using mobile e-mail. In Europe, the use of mobile e-mail will grow by 35% in the next 18 months.

New Media Age reports today that "the wireless space in Ireland today is 'nothing less than a revolution'". Opt-in has proved to be the key to the success of mobile marketing in the Irish market place, and more and more companies are happy with the results of their wireless campaigns.
By the way, Ireland has the highest per-capita texters in Europe.

Nissan goes wireless to promote the new Maxima 2004. As iMediaConnection reports today and a press release stated last week, "Nissan has launched a pioneering affinity marketing campaign for the Nissan 2004 Maxima called the "Mobile Concierge" that packages advertising for the new car with compelling entertainment content for consumers."
The campaign has been developed with AvantGo, and features branding banners that link to a 2004 Maxima microsite designed specifically for PDAs.

PDA marketing sounds very strange to me, since here in Italy (and Europe) we have plenty of mobile phones but only few people, mostly managers, use palm & pocket pc. Personally I'm not even interested in having one, I don't have such a busy life to actually feel the need of it...

On the Italian MediaForum I found today the opinion of Sarah Fay, President of Carat US, who was taking part to an international forum last week in Venice. Commenting a recent study on media usage she stated that young users (between 13 and 24 years old) represent a very important target that will determine the approach to new media communication in the next future. Therefore "we need to provide them with high quality communication".

The latest cross-media analysis study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau says that pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca could increase product awareness in prospects also using online advertising. AdAge talks about it saying that a mix of broadcast, magazine and online media was recommended as the most efficient and cost-effective means to promote the "purple pill" Nexium.

Revolution Magazine reports that GlaxoSmithKline is launching a web site as part of an integrated campaign to promote its Lucozade Energy drink.
The idea is to explain consumers how the drink can help them by increasing their focus and concentration. The Web site idea looks good to me, a part from the rather disgusting brain graphic in the bottom left side of the page. I wonder how this drawing will encourage people to drink Lucozade...

At IBC this year, YooMedia Plc will demonstrate the first ever real-time, synchronous mobile and interactive TV application to be trialed on TV. This first pilot goes live during IBC on Turner Broadcasting�s Cartoon Network. The demonstration can be viewed on stand 3.231 in the iTV lounge at IBC. This is a cut&paste; from YooMedia press releases... sounds very interesting!

According to InternetRetailer.com some web sites have expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the AdSense program. A study by NewGate notes that AdWords program is far more effective.
Interesting the opinion of Tom Dugan president of NewGate who "contends that the results of the NewGate study point to an inherent weakness in contextual ads � that they catch consumers at a time when they are not likely to be in a buying mood".
Just the opposite opinion of the one I've received last week from Massimiliano Magrini, Head of Sales di Google Italia.
Dugan's point of view is very interesting and I might tend to agree with him, even though I think that before talking about theories, predictions and opinions on the matter, it should be better to have a look at more comprehensive AdSense results.

Disney has signed an agreement with Lycos to promote the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" through Europe (which in Italy becomes "The curse of the first moon", boh!). Nine countries will be involved in the campaign that will take advantage of a special web site in nine languages.
Disney is trying to take advantage of the very well established Lycos communities. Users might play the characters online by challenging other people throughout Europe in the Fight Club (that will be hosted on Lycos web site). There will also be a chat room and a competition to win the movie gadgets.

There's a new and promising technology for digital ads tracking out there but... it will take a lot of time before it will be accepted and adopted by the industry. CNET News reports today, also explaining how the technology works. Basically, each ad has a 12-digit unique identifier that's used to track it from creation to distribution. The identifier also allows to link this data to demographic information on people to whom the ads have been delivered.

MediaPost presents the case study of Wyndham Hotels online advertising campaign using Pointroll technology.
Through its PointRoll campaign, Wyndham is averaging nearly five reservations, 10 room nights, and more than $1,600 in revenue per day.
The key is in delivering narrow messages to the users after presenting them with a broad brand message.
Excellent results given the tight budget they had to invest in this campaign.

On iMediaConnection Dawn Anfuso presents an interview with Marc Fireman, Director of Interactive Marketing at Reebok.
They talk about Reebok's online campaigns, in particular of Whodunit? and Terry Tate. Fireman also gives his opinion about rich media, online communication and the lessons Reebok has learned from its online efforts. Very interesting.

USAToday.com has launched a new program to help its advertisers to target different readers segments online. AdWeek reports, saying that Tacoda Systems' Audience Management System will be used to create Web users profiles and therefore target them with the most appropriate ads.

New Media Age reports that "the trend" among media buyers to divert more spend to smaller Web sites and away from major portals has spun into reverse, according to sources in the online ad industry.
IAB has recently released figures concerning 2002, but I believe that, considering the AdSense program launched this year by Google, 2003 might prove different (and better).

Email marketing is just as effective in targeting a business market as a consumer one, but there are some crucial differences. There's a long long article on Revolution Magazine of this month to explain them. Briefly, one of the main problems it's the lack of data (I experience it with the Company I work for as well), while segmentation and precise targeting is the key to success.

Vodafone Australia has launched a new marketing and advertising campaign to focus attention away from mobile phone handsets to the actual Vodafone sim card. B&T; reports today about the new "Red Sim" campaign, designed to help the consumer better understand the Vodafone brand offering.

IAB has the answer to help you in your media planning. MediaPost explains today the new features of comScore Media Metrix's tools which will provide estimates of overall campaign reach, frequency and GRP delivery based on user-defined campaign duration, impression goals and CPMs. Cool :-)

Foster's, the second biggest-selling lager in the UK, is undertaking its second mobile marketing campaign. As Brand Republic explains, it's a text-and-win sales promotion based on the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
It's a scratch and win game designed to be fun and interactive and, of course, to drive a lot of information about users into Foster's client database. Smart, as usual ;-)

Revolution Magazine features this month as "campaign of the month" 02 Free Sim.
02 opted for a free SIM card promotion when it sought an effective but simple way to boost sales and its customer base, writes Emily Booth, explaining the background and details of this marketing initiative developed by Agency Republic.

The virtual dressing room started by Glamour.com about one year ago is proving successful, driving both users and advertisers. DMNews.com reports that Levi Strauss & Co.'s Dockers, Nike and L'Oreal's Matrix have signed on for the program.
So... this is a new way to engage customers online. Should we call it marketainment?

Entertainment industry is looking for an effective marketing tool? Here comes the video-email! Revolution Magazine reports about a new technology developed by Lawton eMarketing that solves some the biggest hurdles in video e-mail marketing.
Is this the solution of the future or just another option for spammers?

3G Technology is set to revolutionise personal marketing by adding a fast, data-rich, multimedia dimension. B&T; presents an interesting feature explaining which are the players in the Australian market and how 3G will change direct marketing. David Burden, CEO of Legion Interactive says:

CyberAtlas reports impressive data concerning mobile phones diffusion around the world. The worldwide mobile handset industry grew by 12 percent in 2Q03 over the same period last year, with Nokia continuing to lead the way.
Furthermore Jupiter Research predicts the total Western Europe mobile market to reach 310 million subscribers in 2005, with Germany accounting for 63 million. Gulp! Mobile marketers, get ready!

After winning a contract with Media Contacts, Dynamic Logic Europe will expand its business by taking care of clients such as Orange, Expedia, Airbus and Intel.
Its technology and methodology, again, will be used to measure the brand effectiveness of online campaigns.
I think I'll send them my cv...

Babycenter.com has released a research demonstrating that online advertising can be an effective brand-building tool. iMediaConnection presents the news, giving a few more details on the campaigns that have been monitored.

A one day online ad blitz to promote the new F-150. This is the Ford idea to present to the Web its new F-150. As explained on AdWeek, rich media ads have been running yesterday on the main portals such as MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. There was also an online sweepstakes to actually win the pickup truck.

Tessa Wegert tries to answer this question today on ClickZ.
Tessa says there's people out there working to develope technology that could fuel the creation of some pretty appealing new ad units. Good to know :-)

160Characters Association reports that New Zealand TV network uses SMS to verify who is actually watching TV programmes.
It's a loyalty program, you earn points for watching tv. You watch tv, during selected programmes get displayed, and you have to sms with your mobile phone and receive instant feedback via texting to update your points balance and reward information.
To learn more about this marketing idea, sponsored by Ford and Burger King, you can also to the TV station web site: Tv Power Points.

The latest figures release by TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, say U.S. online ad expenditures have increased 15.3 percent from the year-ago period. The news is reported on AdWeek adding that Internet ad revenue was $3.2 billion for the first half of the year.
Steven Fredericks, president and CEO of TNS Media Intelligence/CMR states:

A special dossier has been published on Le Journal du Net to analyse contextual advertising, collecting opinions from Overture France, but also from the marketing directors of the main French news portals.
In general, contextual advertising is welcome, but with filters, in order not to be contrary to site deontology.

Customers can now book flights on Virgin Atlantic via their mobile.
New Media Age reports, saying that user can browse the latest offers and then pick the one they prefer and collect the e-ticket at the airport.
Interesting news, but it always sounds very strange to me when you don't have a "paper" ticket in your hands before leaving to the airport... Am I too old for the wireless future?

BMW is launching in Germany a new service dedicated to 7er owners: drive, surf the Web and find hotels and ATM machines thanks to a co-operation of Michelin.
Of course it is suggested not to perform all these actions at the same time :-)
A part from jokes, I think it's this is a good idea to build brand loyalty.

If you can read Spanish, you will surely appreciate this column by David Roman Coy (a Marketing Professor) on Marteting Directo: El movil en el mix de la promocion de las empresas.
Cell phones have introduced a revolution in personal and commercial communication, but we still have to see the best of it.
According to Coy, marketers will take advantage of mobile communication especially for what concerns coupons and instant promotions.

After the summer break Le Journal du Net is back with the best online advertising campaigns in France.
This week it features Reebok, Nissan, Samsung, Aol, and the British Conservative Party.
Nissan is the one I prefer, I like the movement they've created, which I think is rather unusual and very attractive for a banner. Congratulations to Mediaedge:cia the agency they developed the campaign.

Ferrero believes in online and multimedia entertainment as a marketing tool to target kids. They are performing an integrated marketing strategy sincea a couple of years with a series of advergames available to anyone buying the famous Kinder Surprise Eggs. In Italy, they will soon launch a video game "I magicanti e i tre elementi�, supported by a Web site (www.magicanti.it) that is clearly inspired to Harry Potter, even if this is not stated anywhere.

Opt-in News reports today that Advancis has announced the lauch of advancis.agency to serve the Italian market. I link it since like the opinion of Bertrand Balzano, Director of Marketing Services:

Not exactly a new topic to talk about (see Movie marketers and the Internet), however it's nice to get Advertising Age's point of view on it. More and more movie studios are advertising online, preferring the Web to the newspapers. I think it's a good choice if you want to target teenagers, but I'm not sure if this will work with people of my age or older.
I don't think movies are a kind of product you should advertise too much. I mean, the more you invest in advertising the bigger the audience's expectations become. If I see a movie advertised everywhere, I start thinking it's not good enough to get good reviews on magazines� If a movie is good a bit of advertising will launch it and then people and the viral effect will do the rest.

It seems like everybody can't talk about anything but pop-ups these days� Anyway, here we go with another article against poor pop-ups, which I link because I like the title:
Pop-up ads head to technology graveyard.

Join the "burp" contest online... Capri-Sun, a brand owned by Coca-Cola is launching today a new competition and campaign to target kids between 7 and 12 years old. Read more on Brand Republic, I'm not going to go into further details about it. Otherwise go on the web site and enjoy... maybe...

New guidelines are required to discipline mobile marketer. According to New Media Age the Mobile Marketing Association is working on guidelines to limit the hours in which promotional sms can be sent. In the UK, at the moment, First Direct is under fire since it starts sending its sms at 6 o'clock in the morning, since they've found that it's cheaper at that time. Several users have complained to First Direct, and the Company has come out with one of the silliest statements I've ever heard:

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives